Convert negative feelings into a laser beam of awesomeness

I often find days when I am in a low mood and totally demotivated. The days in which I think ‘what’s the point?’ and everything just feels a little shitty. I wanted to post this as a reminder that this feeling can be hijacked and used to our advantage. I want to type this to reflect on, as well as possibly help others stuck in this rut.

The good thing about these problems is that they are all in our head. The problem with these feelings is, well… they are all in our head. For me the mind can be a pretty claustrophobic place, no matter where I walk or run the bad thoughts are right there around me. Physically escaping them is virtually impossible. This is why it is much better to instead of try to escape the thoughts, mold them into something of worth.

This is the very reason why I blog and started to back in 2014 after my father died. I use it as a machine to transform all of my negative emotions into something of worth. I am tired of wasting time because of negative emotions and doing nothing until my mood lifts. We simply do not live long enough to spend hours of the day procrastinating and being slaves to our mental health. If we can use this feeling-down time as rocket fuel alongside our feeling-good time, think of how much progress we could make every single day.

Whether this is to blog, or to work out or whatever the passion. Negativity only pushes us further from the finishing line. I mean no matter how we feel, we want to get to that finishing line, right? Whether it is a career or marriage or whatever we want in life, feeling sorry for ourselves for not being there won’t get us there. What will get us there is taking steps. One by one.

Now for me personally, I want to build my blog so it is successful enough to do it at least part time. I also want to be successful enough to publish a book with a big enough audience that want to read it. I can’t get that overnight, so I blog every day. Some days I ask myself why I spend so much time here without pay. Why I think I am even capable of doing this. But this is a natural state of negative self reflection and the reaction to these questions determines if those thoughts are right or wrong.

I could respond by saying ‘you know what, I am doing this for free. What is the point?’ and never pick up my laptop again. I could let those few down days a year demotivate me and convince me that I am not capable of going further. Even if I am not convinced I am going anywhere 36 days of the year, that is just 10% of my time. To allow 10% of my time to dictate the other 90% would be utterly crazy and I would be doomed to fail. When I am in that 10, I think of the other 90. Nine times out of ten I am moving forward, no matter how fast or slow towards the goal. The finishing line never moves, it is always in that same spot for us to reach. It is down to us to keep making that distance smaller.

If I am angry, I think of how I can convert it into blog form. Writing it down and using it to come up with a post others can relate to and feed off. Why am I angry? Is it because I am not where I want to be? Well, anger doesn’t help. At all. What does help is knowing that if I keep at it, I will be where I want to be. Again, where some people stop or even leave the race, these moments in which we decide to keep going despite everything determines how quickly we get there. We can put it off for another day or get there a day earlier than we would have. In time, these days accumulate into months and years. Today deciding not to do something, and that day next week, and the five or six days next month will determine whether we achieve our dream in 2020 or 2025. Or never. Just because we can’t see the finishing line over the peak doesn’t mean it isn’t there. And how fast we climb that hill determines how soon we will be able to enjoy the descent down the other side.

The same goes for feelings of frustration, jealousy and sadness. We can use them as an excuse to put a hold on things, but all that means is we either fail in our aims, or just delay reaching them as fast.

To help with this, I picture myself being in first class on a long haul flight. It is always something I have wanted to try and I have never afforded it. I have always peered into that section of a flight since being a child, between the countless grey seats directly in front of my face and wondered what it would be like to be there one day. Just once. I will be there one day. But will it be next year or in 30 years time? Whenever I feel like slacking I picture being there in 30 years time. ‘Are you happy with that decision, Sam?’, I think to myself as my productivity meter plummets to zero. And then I picture myself in the seat thinking to myself ‘I could have been here 30 years earlier if I tried’.

Regret is a horrible feeling, but what is beautiful is being able to know that in the future I don’t want to look back on laziness and regret it. Aim to predict where regret would lie in your future and change the future by closing that gap to success today.

The reality is we won’t be where we want to be today. But the day will come, how soon that day will come is determined by how much we put into today. Every day wasted is a day further away, and every productive day means we get there a day sooner. Negative emotions such as the ones I have experienced recently should be a motivator to not experience them again. And what better way to escape these feelings than to pin them to the ground and use them as a stepping stone to that goal. The main reasons as to why I am sad is because I am not currently where I want to be, and knowing one day I will be where I want to be makes every bad day a catalyst for progress.

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22 thoughts

You`re absolutely right, Sam…and hit the nail on the head. Thx for the reminder.

I`d like to add an additional aspect that upgrades a negativity to a true crisis in my view. You`re sincerely challenged if you don`t have any clue what your destination could be…(irrespective of the pax class, you are traveling in)

And the crisis can even further worsen if you don`t know yourself and your true Needs, e.g. because you always have been an “over-conformed”, successful key performer.

Thank you. I feel there are lots of people out there that are unsure of the destination, and I was for a while apart from the fact that I like to travel. Now I know I love to blog whilst doing so, so I put all my effort into this. Some people don’t know, however don’t try to and stay in the same routine they aren’t happy with. This is a shame in my eyes.

Find out who you are and what you have a passion for and work hard to achieve it 🙂

Thanks for sharing your honest feelings with a great chunk of encouragement (with an amazing title to tie it all together beautifully). Just in time to meet me at the end of a rough day in a rough week.

Moments before I read this post, I have been feeling very dejected. Ive been applying for job roles over the past 6 months and recently in the past 5 days feeling very low spirited. Thank you for your post and a reminder to keep going.

Keep going, 100%. I know what it is like waiting to hear from jobs (and the rejections) trust me. The way to succeed is to keep going and maintain a positive attitude. One day- if not today- someone will see this determination and your desire to carry on will be of great benefit to an employer. Good things come to those that don’t give up and you will improve as a person regarding this.

Keep me updated on how it goes, I wish you all the best and I am so pleased my post has helped you with this. Keep your head up and stay determined!

Sam – Love the title of this post and it’s message. I would go as far as to say that there are people who act as laser beams of awesomeness. I think you are one of those people. Keep blogging, I will keep reading. When you write your book, I will read it too. -Jill

That is a huge complement Jill! Thank you so much, it really means a lot to me. I am focusing on blogging for now and building my website up, but I am looking to publish a book in the future. It will be something I will announce on my blog the closer to publishing I get 🙂

I am not one for a lot of fluff and I try to be earnest in the things that I write (say). On many occasions your blog has cheered me up, taught me something new, pointed out a new perspective, etc. If that is being a laser of awesomeness then I don’t know what is! Keep up the great work!